Not just luck
by scoob2222
Summary: VMAngel Crossover. Veronica follows a lead to L.A. and finds Angel instead. They help each other come to some important conclusions.


It's clear she doesn't belong there from the second she walks into the bar. Tiny, blonde and fierce she is like a sore thumb in the dark, dank underground hell hole.

Something in her walk, the way her mouth moves, the tilt of her head makes him want more than the peripheral vision of her he has and he actually lifts his head from his drink to see.

She's young, fresh-faced and gorgeous, and yet her eyes look old, as if they'd seen a lot more than anyone her age should have. Angel knew that look. He'd put that look in another blonde girl's eyes not that long ago. Well not that long in his life time.

She stops talking to the bartender and turns. She catches his eye and walks over to where he's sitting, hips swishing back and forth subtly, "Hey, I'm supposed to be meeting my friend at this place, Billy's and no one can tell me where it is. Which is strange because the address told me it was here and …"

"It burned down."

"When?"

"Two months ago." He'd been there, clearing people out before the Larknar demon set the whole building ablaze. He was sitting in the crappy basement of what had been that bar.

The blonde curses and plops down next to him, "Something wrong?" he asks as he sips his drink.

She sighs and rolls her shoulders, "No, just a blown lead, uh, friend, I mean I was…"

"Tracking down a lead. You're a reporter?"

"Not exactly. More of a private investigator."

"Huh? I used to be one of those. You look a little young for a full time job, though." How young was she? He was so bad at people's age, and most other things about them.

"More of a part-time job. I'm in school full time."

"Oh, well, hope you don't have class early tomorrow since it's almost 3 am."

"Doesn't matter. I'm from Neptune and I'll never be able make the ride back tonight. So I guess I'm missing my 8 am class and for a dead end lead."

"Well what's the problem? Maybe I could help? One former P.I. to another."

'And why would I trust you?"

"I don't know. You're the one who came rushing off in the middle of the night for a bogus lead so I bet the case is pretty important to you. Thought I could be of some help. I'm Angel, by the way."

He sees her thinking, considering him with a thoughtful expression, "Okay I'm Veronica. Actually I'm here about one of my friend's sisters. Her husband has been hitting her. She wants to divorce him but needs some ammo to keep him away from her kids. So I heard rumors that he was bringing in drugs through a guy in L.A."

"And you came to meet the guy. The drug runner. Are you insane?"

"Well, it was time sensitive."

"And the guy, the friend whose sister this is….where is he?"

"Work."

"He let you come alone."

She's silent as she looks down, "Well, I might have left some of the details out. Like the part where I was going to L.A. to meet a druggie dealer."

"Somehow I'm not surprised."

"And why's that?"

"I've known girls like you before. They tend to get so focused on doing the right thing that they loss sight of some things, like their safety, their lives. That kind of stuff."

"Thanks…I think."

"So, what's your next move, now that you can't find the guy?"

She shrugged, "Find a place to crash for a few hours, drive back to Neptune, and keep searching until I find something to nail this guy with."

He nodded, considering and final said, "Listen's there's a hotel a few blocks from here,"

At her wide eyed look he held his hands out and shock his head, "No, no, not like that. I own the hotel. We re-opened last month and uh, I keep a few rooms opens just in case, if you need a place to crash."

"Uh, I appreciate the offer, but I'm not exactly rolling in dough. I was thinking more along the lines of a motel."

"Uh, you really don't want to do that. Motels in L.A., well let's just say you're going to want more than that tazer you've been clutching in your hands since the moment you came in.

She looked down and indeed her hands were around the tazer that was half-in, half-out of her bag. "Okay, I'll take you up on your offer. But remember I've got the tazer."

He chuckled at the sheer ridiculousness of that statement. She think it was ridiculous too if she really knew what he was, "Okay, you can follow me there."

That being said she followed him out to her car and waited for him to drive around and find her. This night was turning into quite the adventure.

&&&&&&

Veronica couldn't help but be impressed with the hotel. The lobby was immense, filled with plush sofas and pillows and looking like the last place this Angel guy would ever own. Well, that why they made interior designers.

While Angel spoke with the front desk receptionist she stared at the pictures on the walls. Seemed almost like family pictures you'd see in someone's living room. A gorgeous, voluptuous brunette that looked somehow familiar, another tiny, slight brunette woman, a tall, broad African-American man, an uptight looking man, and in some pictures, a man covered in green paint and horns. Well, it was L.A. after all.

"All set," she jumped when he appeared behind her. It was generally more difficult for people to get the jump on her. She thanked him and followed him to the second floor where she saw a wonderfully decorated and rather large room and, to her surprise a tray full of fresh fruit, chocolate and other late night treats. She turned back toward him and he shrugged.

"I figured you might be hungry so I had the chef send some stuff up."

"You have a chef on at 3 am at night."

"Well, some of our clientele is quite….nocturnal."

"Okay," she stressed the word and then he turned back toward the door, "Well, I'll let you get some sleep, just call the front desk if you need anything and if I'm not around in the morning just leave the key with the receptionist."

"Sure," she watched him open the door and before she could stop herself, "Wait, did you..uh…did you maybe want a stay awhile, eat some of this food. I mean, I couldn't finish it, well I probably could, but I shouldn't. Plus I'm kind of not tired, but, then you might be."

"No, I don't really sleep much," he finished and then paused before saying, "Sure."

"Okay," she stood awkwardly for a moment before dragging one of the trays over to the table and sitting down, "Here have some of the tons of food you sent up."

He sat, but she noticed he didn't take anything. Oh, well more for her.

She ate quietly for a few moments, before taking a breath and leaning back, "Uh, this is really nice of you and all, but I'm not sure why you did it."

"Did what?"

"The hotel room, the food?"

"Well, it's kind of my thing, helping people who need it. Although in your case it was a lot less work than most. Plus, I know what it's like trying to get a lead and feeling like your stuck against a wall. So, figured I'd help you out, one P.I. to another."

"I thought you said you were a former P.I."

"I am, I mean," he stopped for a moment and looked down, "I don't have my business anymore, but I still do some…freelance," he looked amused with his answer.

"So, if I needed to find out about some drugs coming through here and going to Neptune."

He paused, "Drugs usually aren't my focus, but I've still got some contacts. Who exactly are you looking for?"

She rattled the entire situation off to him, then waited as he made several calls on his cell phone. She giggled as he tried to close it and ended up snapping it shut on his finger. She tried to smother it but he saw her.

"I'm not so great with modern technology. The only reason I have this is because Cordy…" he stopped for a moment.

"Cordy?" she questioned though the look on his face said she should let it go.

He closed of immediately, "Nothing, forget it."

His face became so stone cold in the moment it reminded her of Eli. The way he could be so open one moment and so closed off the next. Behind every brick wall there was another one. Of course the same could be said about her.

"Listen, I didn't mean to pry," she began.

He shook it off, "No, I brought it up."

"And you dropped it. You know us P.I's we can never let anything go. But I didn't mean to…."

"Cordy was my best friend," he said out of nowhere.

"Was?" she questioned and then grimaced.

He gave a sad smile, "P.I. instinct again. It's okay. Cordy, she died; actually it's the three year anniversary today."

"Oh, I," she had no idea what to say.

"Yeah, that's why I was at the bar."

"I'm sorry," then for no reason she could think said, "My best friend died, it's been, wow, over two years, closer to three actually."

"I'm sorry, too."

"Yeah, it looks like we have more in common than just the detective skills."

"Yeah, well, unless you lost every other friend you had over the last three years then not so much."

Veronica was shocked silent for a moment, "All of your friends?"

"Yeah, first Fred, Wesley, then Gunn, Lorne made it far as I know, but he's never contacted me again so…." He got up then and paced back and forth before looking down at her, "I have no idea why I'm telling you this. I'm sorry."

"No, no, it's okay," she turned in her chair and looked up at him, "I mean you don't have to tell me anything, but it seems like maybe you want to so if you do, I'll listen."

He sighed and said nothing for a moment. Finally he settled in the huge armchair diagonally from her and said, "After all my friends died, I, well I just kind of floated, traveling her and there for no reason. Then I ended up in Italy about six months ago to see my ex, Buffy."

"I'm guessing it didn't go well."

"She had been dating someone else that I knew about, but when I got there she had broken up with him. I thought we might make it work, we tried for a few months, but it had just been too long. I love her, and she loves me and that's forever, but she isn't the same girl she was, and I'm not the same either and who we are now don't work. Does that even make sense?"

Veronica snorted, "You have no idea. That sounds like, well, every relationship I ever had?"

"Are you making me feel better?"

"No, I, well my first boyfriend and I broke up after his sister, that was my best friend, Lilly was killed, and then we got back together a year later after I discovered her real killer and that he wasn't my brother. But then he…"

"Wait….did you say brother?"

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"Right, so then his ex-girlfriend died after having his baby and he went on the run with the baby, so it didn't work."

"And how is this like my story."

"Well, it's not," she stopped and stood gesturing with her hands, "But even before he left, it wasn't, it was like," she stopped and thought, "Like when you buy one of those bed in a bag things and it fits in the bag perfectly til you take it out and then you put it back in and no matter how many times you re-fold it will never fit in there the way it used to."

"Sure, I guess."

She groans, "We just didn't fit anymore. And then Logan,"

"Logan."

"Yeah, my best friend's ex, he and I dated for a while and then this summer we got back together,"

"Hold on, is that your dead best friend's ex."

"Yeah."

"You know, my romantic life is actually starting to look less tragic."

She glared at him, "Hey, I'm trying to make you feel better."

"Well you are amusing me, so good job."

She glared again, "Fine, forget it."

"No, no, you sound like you could use someone to talk to just as much as I did."

"Well, I guess," she shrugged and came to sit on the bed so she was sitting right in front of him.

She was silent for a moment and then sighed, "Logan, I thought he and I were, I don't know, that there was something big between us. Something that would be wonderful and amazing if only we could get all the problems behind us and just be together. And then the problems got solved and we were just two people and it was great, at first," she took a deep breath, "But then it was just wrong. Almost like when you have a puzzle piece that looks like it's going to fit, but then it turns out to be the wrong one, and you still try to get it in, but it just won't go."

"But would you want it to fit if you could."

"What?"

"The puzzle piece, oh, never mind, I hate these crazy love metaphors, listen if you could make the pieces fit, if you could change him or you in some way, compromise in someway could you make it work?"

She thought for a few moments, "Maybe."

"Would you want to?"

She was silent as she stared at him, "No, I don't think so," she stopped again, and then said more confidently, "No."

"Then there's your answer."

She was quiet again, "So both of us completely alone, that's kind of pathetic, we could start a club."

"What about the other guy?"

"What other guy?"

"The reason you came all the way to L.A. The one whose sister you're helping."

"Eli," he eyes grow wide, and she can feel her face heat up, "He's no, he's not, we're just…friends."

"Okay."

"I mean, yeah we get along well. And he's fun to hang out with. We kind of have this, I don't know, bantering thing, we're always trying to one up each other, our conversations are like verbal judo or something," she stopped and smiled at Angel, he smiled back it was so infectious, "And he's always there when I get in trouble, which is pretty often. Plus, we really only became friends after Lilly died so he treats me like who I am now, not who I was before."

"You were different before?"

"I was naïve, innocent, weak, well, maybe not weak, just young, but after Lilly died, I had to grow up. Duncan and Logan, they wanted, at least partly, what I was before, but Eli, he's not like that."

"Sounds to me like you found a piece that fits."

"Huh?" she scrunched her brows at him.

He rolled his eyes, "The puzzle, It was your metaphor, not mine."

"Oh, right," she considered it for a moment, "Okay, maybe he does."

Angel raised his brow at her, "Okay, he does and I'll think about it."

He nodded.

"So, what about you?" she asked, "What are you going to do about, uh, what was her name?"

He laughed, "Buffy. I don't know. It doesn't work at least for now. It's not really her that's bothering me anyway. It's just, I always thought one day when everything else was gone she'd be there, that we'd get another chance, and now we had the chance and it didn't work and everything's gone. All I have is this hotel," he stopped, "No one's stayed in this room since we re-opened. It was where Cordy used to stay."

"Oh."

"Yeah, the hotel used to be our offices. Angel Investigations. When she died everything went south. I was lost without her. I loved Buffy so much, love her, but Cordy, she was, she was….so gave me so much, and I tried to get back on track like she wanted, but I failed miserably. And I know that wherever she is she's disappointed with me and that stings worse than losing everything else."

Veronica wasn't sure what to do, he looked so lost at that moment, she awkwardly stood up and put her hand on his shoulder and then yipped as he got pulled down until she was almost in his lap, his arms holding her securely. They sat like that for several minutes, neither saying much.

Finally, she had to break the silence, "So stop disappointing her."

"What?"

"Well, you said you feel like your disappointing her, but your not 80. You're a young guy," he chuckled which she found strange, but she continued on, "If you're not happy with the way your life is, fix it."

He stopped and stared at her for a minute, "I…don't know how."

"Well," she said, and thought for a moment, "Why not go back to the P.I. business. That's where you started out with Cordy, right?"

"Right."

"So, go back to the beginning and try again."

Angel looked as if the thought had never occurred to him. Then he gave her a small smile, "I'll think about it."

&&&&&&

"Well," Veronica said the next morning, "I should get going."

Angel nodded.

"Thanks again for the room, and for the information on Anita's husband. It will be extremely helpful."

"Not a problem. You've got my card; let me know if I can help you with anything else."

"Yeah, same with you. And I hope, you know that everything works out for you."

"For you too."

"Yeah, I guess it's a lucky thing you were at that bar last night."

"Not lucky."

"What?"

"Not luck at all. I never go to that bar. I was there the night it burned down, but never before or after. Then last night I went driving, and ended up there and I had no idea why. Then you came in. It wasn't luck. It was Cordelia. She sent you, to get me back on track."

"Oh! Well, I'm glad I helped then."

"You did."

"Okay, well," Veronica leaned in to give him a hug, but at the last second changed her mind and leaned up to brush a soft kiss against his lips, "I really hope that everything goes well for you Angel."

"You too, Veronica."

&&&&&&

Veronica didn't stop once on her ride back to Neptune until she ended up in front of Eli's home. He was out of the house, before she even closed the car door.

"V, what the hell where you thinking going to L.A. to find a drug dealer without me? Are you insane?"

Veronica said nothing as he approached her. He stood in front of her, full of righteous anger and, underneath it, worry and concern, and relief that she was safe.

"Well," he demanded, "Say something."

Smiling Veronica leaned forward and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in close. Eli jerked back in surprise but quickly returned the embrace.

And she thought it was a perfect fit.

&&&&&&

Back in L.A. Angel moved the last box into his tiny, two room apartment. He looked at the computer and watched Cordy's angel logo move back and forth on the screen and smiled.

"Well, Cordelia, I'm here, what now?"

Moments later, the sound of a scream from outside had him bursting into action.


End file.
